Fulham are back in the Premier League yet again after winning the Championship title last season in convincing fashion, and according to reports, the west London side want to sign Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
The Cottagers are keen to add top-flight quality to the squad if they are to survive in the Premier League next season, and Leno is an ideal player for Marco Silva to target given the German international’s immense reputation and track record with the Gunners.
- 4 strikers Arsenal almost signed, including record breaking marksman
- 3 ways exciting Eredivisie attacker could change Arteta’s Arsenal
Indeed, whether or not Leno would want to move to Fulham is another story, with the 29-year-old no doubt able to start for a top a side either in the Premier League or elsewhere in Europe, yet with the FIFA World Cup around the corner, the goalkeeper could find himself in a bind.
With Leno potentially signing for Fulham this summer, this got us thinking about other transfers that saw those move to teams way below their standard, and how much of an impact these moves had for both the player and the club.
Heung-min Son – Bayer Leverkusen to Tottenham
Heung-min Son moving to Tottenham in 2015 might not be a transfer you think of when you think about the theme at hand, but it’s quite easy to forget just how highly-rated the South Korean international was at the time of his move to north London.
Some of Europe’s biggest sides were keen on signing the Bayer Leverkusen attacker at the time, and Tottenham landed themselves a coup when they won the race for Son, who as we know has since developed into one of the best attackers in world football and has established himself as a bona fide club icon at Spurs.
Dimitri Payet – Olympique Marseille to West Ham
It’s easy to forget that for the majority of their tenure in the Premier League, West Ham have largely been a midtable side, though that all changed in the summer of 2015 when new manager Slaven Bilic signed a little playmaker from France called Dimitri Payet.
To say the Frenchman was an incredible signing would be an understatement as the arrival from Olympique Marseille took the Premier League by storm, scoring 12 goals and assisting 15 in all competitions and starring for France in Euro 2016, before Payet returned to his homeland 18 months later after falling out with the Hammers hierarchy.
James Rodriguez – Real Madrid to Everton
Everton have often been a club where big-name players long-discarded by top sides go to play their final years, and out of all the names to join the Toffees, James Rodriguez is easily the most well-known and arguably the best.
Whilst the Colombian international’s time at Goodison Park came to a disappointing end, there’s no denying that Rodriguez’s arrival sparked mass hysteria and shock on social media, with Everton fans in disbelief that Carlo Ancelotti was able to bring the former Real Madrid star to Goodison Park.
Cristiano Ronaldo – Juventus to Manchester United
Putting Cristiano Ronaldo joining Manchester United last summer on this list might be an odd choice, but given just how bad the Red Devils were in the 2021/22 season and how much the footballing legend saved them during the campaign, the selection begins to make a lot more sense.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner made a dramatic return to United in the final days of the transfer window last year, though 12 months after coming back to Old Trafford, Ronaldo has arguably been the Manchester giants’ only shining light in what has been a year to forget.
Philippe Coutinho – FC Barcelona to Aston Villa
January transfers rarely cause much of a stir, but when Philippe Coutinho signed for Aston Villa of all clubs, eyebrows were raised and questions were asked as to why the £146m Brazilian had decided to reunite with Steven Gerrard at a midtable Premier League side.
With the loan signing becoming permanent this summer, Coutinho is seemingly committed to the Villa project for the coming years, with the Villains one of the sides to keep an eye on next season with the former Liverpool star now on their books for good.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
